Small sausages are usually produced with known sausage filling machines in the form of long portioned sausage strings. In that case, two adjacent sausage cases are respectively separated from each other by a twist-off location. The filled and divided sausage cases are placed in loops and suspended from a suspension device known in the state of the art. A smoking bar or rod is pushed through the loops of the sausages, which are hanging in the suspension device. The string of sausages is then suspended in that form on a smoking cart, which is then moved into a smoker chamber.
While the suspension machine is operating, faults may occur, for example, due to so-called skin splits (defective sausage case or damage to the sausage case), by virtue of sausage cases of differing lengths, or the like disruptions. In response to a fault, the normal working process has to be interrupted and the defective sausages have to be stripped out of the string. The sausage case is knotted and thereafter the sausages can be subjected to further processing again in the proper fashion.
Known filling machines and accessory devices have a filling height of between about 1000 mm and 1200 mm. The suspension devices are generally adapted in respect of their height to the filling height of the filling machines and accessory devices, and in many cases that represents a very low working height for the operator of the suspension device.
Raising the filling machine and a corresponding accessory device and, thus, the suspension device is not really appropriate because the operating problem is only shifted as a result.
The use of intermediate belts to compensate for the working height is detrimental as the intermediate belts signify additional complication and expenditure, in regard to operation, maintenance, spare part stocking and demand for power.